HarryGinny Oneshot
by RaptorRex
Summary: Set after the 7th book. Harry wants to apologise to Ginny, but she doesn't want to get back with him. NOT Harry bashing.NO fan characters. CANNON.


Harry/Ginny one-shot

It had been four weeks since the funerals of their friends and peers that had died in that war that had taken place outside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A battle like this had never been seen before in the wizarding world. Many species took to fight on either side of the dark forces or the good side.

Even muggles who lived a long way away had reported seeing strange bursts of light and hearing explosions coming from the country-side. The battle had weighed over to the light side as Harry Potter; the Boy Who Lived had prevailed over the evil that had shrouded the wizarding world in a cloud of fear that was Lord Voldemort – or less commonly known as Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Harry rounded the corner of the lane that led to the only place he had really ever called home apart from Hogwarts, The Burrow. He had recently returned from Godric's Hollow where he was looking for a house, and visiting the graves of his parents for the first-time since the defeat of Voldemort. The sky was a dull grey, over cast and cloudy. The rain threatened to soak him at every movement of the could, so he picked up pace, preferring to walk to his best friend's home rather than apparate, which as a very wise man had once told him, was the equivalent to kicking down the door. As he approached, the familiar clucking of chickens pecking their way around the small yard in front of the three story house that the Weaslys resided in.

At the front door, Harry knocked politely and had to wait no longer than a few seconds before he was greeted by the sound of a fussing Molly Weasly.

"Harry dear, you don't have to knock! Come in; go right through to the kitchen. Ron is in the garden de-gnoming the place. Goodness knows we've neglected it!" Molly hugged him tightly before steering him into the kitchen where he sat at the familiar scrubbed wooden table. Harry felt awkward. He hadn't spoken to Molly since Fred's funeral and he could sense the emptiness of the missing Weasly. The death had hit the family hard. George was often quiet and subdued. He barely spoke and jokes were out of the question. He stayed working in their Joke Shop as it was 'what Fred would have wanted,' but Harry knew his heart wasn't in it. The older Weaslys were off to work again, but they too had been quiet. Ron grew increasingly moody and Harry suspected that this was also down to Hermione's absence. She had gone back home to counter the jinx that had rendered her a stranger to her parents. He hadn't seen Ginny at all since the Funeral. He hadn't spoken to her then either. It was the wrong time. Her name in his head made his guts tighten.

"Mrs. Weasly, would it be all right if I went out to help Ron?" Harry asked tentatively. She had her back to him as she was leaning over a large pot.

"Of course, dear." Was her reply. It was somewhat strangled.

Harry exited through the back door to the massive expanse of land that the garden consumed. It was easy to spot Ron, who was sulking near the fence, prodding a gnome with his foot. Harry almost wished he hadn't come because of the atmosphere, but he knew he owed it to them. It was his fault that their family had lost one of it's berth.

"Alright?" Harry said loudly, but not too cheerily.

"Alright." Ron grunted.

"How are things?"

"Boring,"

Then there was silence. Ron stared moodily at the grass, kicking at a clump of grass. Harry looked away into the distance. It was a thick tension. A heavy tension that choked the friendship between them.

"Look I'm sorry about Fred," Harry said quietly after what seemed like an age. Ron's head rose slowly. His expression was unfathomable. For a moment, Harry thought Ron might hit him.

"Why?" He then said, suddenly.

"Come on Ron. We both know that it's my fault all this happened." Harry shrugged, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

"It's not your fault," Ron said hesitantly. "And I know Fred would have risked his life if it meant that Voldemort snuffed it once and for all,"

"So you're not falling out with me?"

"Nah… of course not mate," Ron looked distant again. "It's just hard… y'know, loosing someone."

"I know," Harry said shortly.

"Sorry, mate," Ron said quickly. "Just, forgot. Sorry,"

"It's fine," Harry managed a weak smile. "As long as I know we're still cool,"

"Yeah," Ron grinned, but then his face grew serious again. "No offence, but I think you should be thinking about my sister. She's taken you ignoring her quite hard."

Harry gave a start.

"Ignoring her?" He repeated. "I wasn't!"

"That's not the way she sees it. She was close to Fred, Y'know. And she thinks she's lost you now too," Ron said grimly. He gave him a hard look. "And we might be mates, but if you hurt her, I'll knock you out,"

"Ron, I wouldn't hurt her," Harry snapped, annoyed.

"You have." Ron retorted, defiant. "You dumped her."

"I did- what?" Harry spluttered. He took a step back.

"Well then you should go sort things out between you," Ron said nodding to the house. Harry hesitated.

"What if she doesn't want to see me?"

"Just move it." Ron said, giving him a shove. "She'd like it more if you talked to her. Girls are like that," Harry nodded and turned towards the house. He had an inkling that Ron had been studying girl's preferences pretty hard.

In the kitchen, Harry tapped Mrs. Weasly's shoulder.

"Where will I find Ginny?" He asked.

"Up in her room. We never see her nowadays." She replied in a sort of stiff manner. Harry felt uncomfortable.

"Thanks," He muttered. He left the kitchen, glad to be alone for once and took to the stairs. He passed Fred and George's room and had to avert his eyes from the door sign. He found his legs were taking him to Ginny's room automatically. He stopped right outside her door, hesitating before knocking. What if she ignored the door? What if she told him to go away? He felt like a large rock had settled in his lower intestine. He raised a fist to the door and knocked gently. Silence for about twenty seconds. Then he saw the brass doorknob rattle and Ginny's face appeared at the door. Place, slightly freckled and framed by her long shiny red hair. Harry's stomach was doing summersaults. And it felt like he'd swallowed a jar of bees.

"Erm… Hi," He choked out, feeling stupid,

"Hello," Ginny said. She then pulled the door open wider. "You'd better come in,"

Harry went in, feeling her eyes boring into the back of his head, his neck prickled. She walked round towards the window and leant on the sill, Crossing her arms and glaring at Harry. There was a bitter silence. Harry wracked his brain for something to say, but drew a black card. His mouth seemed to want to do the work for thing, though.

"I wasn't ignoring you," He blurted out, unable to control himself. Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"Seemed like it," She said simply.

"I wasn't!" He protested, feeling wounded that she was giving him such a piercingly angry look.

"Well, generally when you ignore someone you avoid their gaze and don't talk to them. That's what you done at Fred's funeral."

"I didn't think it would have been appropriate to have been all over you, given the occasion," Harry replied, annoyed.

"I wasn't asking you to be all over me. A smile would have been nice though. Or is that too much trouble for you?" She snapped. She looked furious.

"What have I done?" Harry exclaimed, he was perplexed as to why she was acting like he'd committed a crime.

"You know what, Harry."

Harry seethed. He didn't know what. He made a mental note to read that book that Ron had given him as it obviously held some sort of guide to mind reading. Girls always wanted you to know what was wrong.

"No I don't. I failed Divination, remember?"

"Hilarious,"

"Look, why don't you just tell me what I've done that's so bad?" Harry was beginning to get angry now. There was a long silence. Ginny stared coldly at him still, while Harry looked back at her, his hands in his pockets again. He averted his gaze. It was too awkward. She was obviously intent on hating him, so let her have her way. Harry had no idea why she was being so angry and what he was supposed to have done, but whatever it was, it was bloody serious in her eyes.

She finally spoke, her voice icy and low.

"Do you know what it feels like-" She began, standing up straight and putting her hands on her hips. "-to fall in love with someone, and harbor feelings for them so strong that it depresses you to know that they could never love you back?"

"I-"

"And then when you watch them fall in love with someone else, you put your feelings aside and accept that you'll never be good enough."

"Ginny-"

"But then your dreams come true. They do like you back. Maybe it hasn't been going on for as long as you liked them, but it's there! It's a glimmer of hope, Harry."

"Ginny, look I don't know where you're going with this but I'm sure that if you told me, I could help," Harry said hurriedly. Ginny ignored him.

"We were together finally. You and me, me and you. Other people like you, but you chose me. It meant so much to me. So maybe it wasn't love- to you anyway, but I was content. Then after a few months, you just left me. Not only that, but you disappeared." Ginny's eyes burned into Harry's. He felt sick. Her voice became practically a whisper.

"Do you know what it's like to want something for so long, then get a taste of it only for heaven to be snatched away again?"

Harry stared at her. He had thought that this was all in the past. His heart was racing. He suddenly realized that he had never saw Ginny cry, but her voice was shaking so much. Would he see her cry now? The thought frightened him. She hadn't cried at Fred's funeral. She's held her head up high and been strong. If he made her cry now, Ron might just employ the killing curse on him. And what would his reaction be? Would he comfort her? Or would the sight scare him?

"I'm sick of these mind games, Harry. You can't just throw me away when you feel like it like some sort of chessboard that you only play when you're out of anything else to do," She turned to face the window. "So tell me what's going on. Otherwise, you can leave and we don't have to talk ever again,"

There was another silence as Harry thought about her words. He decided to throw caution to the winds,

"What makes you think that I don't care about you anymore?" He asked quietly.

"Because if you did, you'd have shown some compassion towards me at Fred's funeral." Ginny replied, still not looking at him. "All I wanted was someone to talk to, Harry."

"I didn't think it was the time." Harry repeated. "It would have stirred up trouble between Ron and me. Think about it. He goes off his head when he thinks I might be messing you around. We'd never gotten back together and it would really look great if I started hugging you at your brother's funeral. He'd punch me and say I was using you while you were vulnerable."

"I-" Ginny began, but Harry cut through, his emotions coming through to the top.

"No, listen. I didn't love you because when we were kids because that's all we were; was kids. And trust me, you're my best friend's little sister. You were out of bounds. I grew feelings for you last year and I waited until you were single before telling you, and by the way, that was no walk in the park for me. I guess it was a taste of my own medicine. That's not the point. It point is that I love you Ginny. And I still do, but if you're going to be this way with me then I'll just leave, because that's obviously what you want," Harry ranted. Ginny paused. She shook her head.

"All I'm doing is setting my self up to get hurt again." She replied, "I can't be with you."

Harry's stomach plummeted. He jerked his hand forwards to grab hers, but stopped himself. It was her decision.

"So that's it then," He said. He turned and moved towards the door. Ginny made no reaction to stop him. She just stayed in the same spot, staring out of the window, the small, weak ray of sun falling on the space of porcelain cheek that could be seen from Harry's angle. He walked out the door, pulling it closed behind him. The image of her beautifully determined expression after Gryffindor won the cup last year ran through his mind. The thought made his throat tighten. He quietly went back down the stairs and out of the Weasly's front door. He planned to apparate away from them, leave their family in peace.

He left, alerting no one. His legs pulled him a few steps down the road before he closed his eyes, concentrating. Turn. Turn back.

Back at Godric's Hollow, Harry wandered off towards his parent's graves. He felt like the ghost that would haunt there for the rest of his life. Had he just considered her feelings for a second, he'd never have lost her. Maybe he'd thought too much about protecting her than thinking about what she wanted. Harry sat on the graveyard wall, staring down at the ground. He felt cold and empty, like a dementor had descended upon him, but this darkness could not be chased away by a patronus charm…

_A year later _

It was snowing. Early in the morning and the street was empty. Harry's was the only set of footprints in the pure white crystalline road. His robes flapped behind him, his cheeks bitten by the cold air. His mind was buzzing about who he'd see at the Ministry. He was going to start his Auror training after taking a year out to travel the world and clear his mind. He hadn't seen The Weaslys since that heartbreaking night.

Harry reached the end of the street when a voice called out.

"Harry!" It was a strong female voice. Harry turned sharply, just in time to see a flash of red hair before she threw her arms roughly around him.

"Ginny!?" Harry gasped, already knowing.

"Where have you been?" She demanded, pulling away, but still holding his hands.

"Everywhere," He laughed.

"I've been trying to contact you! We've all been! Hermione is furious, and Ron is going to kill you," She said, with a slight giggle. She somehow looked older, even though it had only been a year.

"You're nineteen now, aren't you?" Harry said to her.

"Yeah and you're twenty, huh?" She smiled, then hugged him tightly again.

"I'm so sorry I acted like that back then," She admitted. "I was just so confused."

Harry drew his arms around her waist.

"It's fine," He said. "I'm just glad we're friends again,"

"We're more than that," Ginny replied, pulling him towards her and kissing him. Harry immediately kissed her back, His hand on the small of her back, pulling her closer to him. No words were sweeter than those.


End file.
